Phase 2 Ceasefire Negotiations Process on the Brink

DEIR Al-BALAH, SUNDAY – The smooth process of hostage-prisoner release and exchange has not yet guaranteed that the stage 2 ceasefire negotiations will proceed smoothly. According to The Guardian, Sunday (February 9, 2025), the stage 2 ceasefire talks are expected to be held this week. However, up to now, there are no details regarding the status of these talks.

Previously, last Saturday, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, had ordered the Israeli negotiation team to depart for Doha, Qatar. They left following the fifth session of the hostage-prisoner exchange.

"With the completion of the release phase, Prime Minister Netanyahu has instructed the dispatch of a negotiation delegation to Doha to discuss the technical details of the agreement," stated the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel. Additionally, it was mentioned that Netanyahu will hold a security cabinet meeting to discuss the phase 2 ceasefire negotiations and the hostage release agreement.

However, Hamas is not yet fully convinced by Israel's actions. As reported, the initial process of the talks was delayed last week because the Israeli negotiation team had not yet arrived. On the other hand, the Hamas negotiation team has been in Doha since last Tuesday.

In an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP) last Saturday, a member of Hamas' political bureau, Basem Naim, stated that Hamas was actually ready to start the second phase of dialogue last Monday. However, Israel decided to postpone it. Until now, there is no definite date for when the dialogue for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement will begin.

"What we see from the delays and lack of commitment in implementing the first phase and efforts to create a political, international, diplomatic, and media environment to pressure Palestinian negotiators when entering the second phase, of course, endangers this agreement and thus this agreement may stall and collapse," said Basem Naim, a member of Hamas' political bureau in an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP) last Saturday.

Naim stated that the ceasefire agreement is very fragile. Unlike Netanyahu's stance, who still intends to continue the war, the Palestinian militant group, Naim firmly said, does not want to fight anymore.

"However, the return of war is certainly not our desire or decision. But if one party decides to return to war, of course, the Palestinian people, we who have endured for 15 months and have the spirit of resistance in our hearts, will be ready to respond appropriately," said Naim.

Meanwhile, as reported, PM Netanyahu has issued a signal that Israel could continue the war at any time even though there are still Israeli hostages who have not been released. "We will not ignore what happened. We will take the necessary action," Netanyahu said.

He added that US President Donald Trump fully supports Israel's move. "We will do everything to free the hostages, but there is no Hamas there," Netanyahu said after the hostages were released.

US President Donald Trump has proposed a controversial plan to move Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip. Trump's proposal has been welcomed by Israel but rejected by the international community. Based on the 1994 UN definition of genocide, it includes the emptying of a territory of its inhabitants on the basis of race and religion.

Trump's proposal could certainly complicate the phase 2 ceasefire negotiations. The agenda of the phase 2 ceasefire is the release of the remaining Israeli hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops and an end to the war.

Meanwhile, amid the fragile phase 2 ceasefire process, three Israeli hostages were released again. In the fifth phase of the hostage-prisoner exchange, 183 Palestinians were also released from Israeli custody, last Saturday.

The Israeli hostages who were released were Eli Sharabi (52), Ohad Ben Ami (56), and Or Levy (34). They were held hostage by Hamas members when the group attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

Unlike before, the condition of the hostages and a number of prisoners appeared to be concerning. The condition of the three Israelis appeared emaciated with sunken eye bags. Meanwhile, a Palestinian was released with a ventilator attached. A total of seven prisoners were reportedly rushed to the hospital for treatment.

In addition, some of the 183 Palestinian prisoners who were released were also thin and appeared to have experienced physical torture. Some Palestinian prisoners were taken to the West Bank, Gaza, or Egypt.

Hamas accused Israel of adopting a policy of “slow killing” against Palestinian prisoners. “The fact that seven prisoners were transferred to the hospital immediately after their release reflects the systematic attacks and mistreatment of our prisoners by the Israeli prison authorities,” Hamas said in a statement.

The International Red Cross said it was deeply concerned about the conditions of the hostages and urged all parties to ensure that the released hostages and detainees were treated with dignity.

Israeli Health Ministry representative Hagar Mizrahi noted the “malnutrition” and weight loss of the freed hostages. Families of the freed Israeli hostages are concerned about the safety of the remaining hostages.

"If anyone doubts the urgency of releasing the hostages, today it is clear why we must release the hostages immediately," said Moshe Or, brother of hostage Avinatan Or, at a rally in Tel Aviv.

The hostage coordinator from Prime Minister Netanyahu's office, Gal Hirsch, said that he would not remain silent (about the hostages' dire conditions). "We have conveyed the message to the negotiators. They will act according to the direction," Hirsch said.

Hamas' militant wing said it had made every effort to ensure the safety of the hostages despite being bombarded by Israel day and night for the past 15 months.

Israel said Hamas admitted eight of the 33 hostages were killed, along with 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who have been bombarded by Israel for 15 months from the north to the south of the Strip.

“I was wearing an XXL shirt, now I’m a medium,” said the newly released Ben Ami as he held his daughter Ella. Ella said it took a while to recognize the thin-looking man as her father.

In a BBC report, Sunday (9/2/2025), Palestinian prisoner, Jamal al-Tawil, former Mayor of Al-Bireh, said that he had been involved in a hunger strike because he was detained without any charges or legal process.

Al-Tawil's daughter said her father was beaten by Israeli forces before being released. He had to be carried off a prisoner bus to a hospital on a ventilator.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, seven of the 183 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel were immediately rushed to hospital.

Of the Palestinian prisoners released by Israel, 18 were sentenced to life in prison for deadly attacks on Israelis, 54 were sentenced to long terms, and 111 were Gazans who were detained following the October 7, 2023 attacks but were not tried for any crime. They were all between the ages of 20 and 61.

Almost every Palestinian has friends, relatives imprisoned by Israel.

Seven prisoners were sent to Egypt, some to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and the rest returned to devastated Gaza.

One of the prisoners released was Iyad Abu Shakhdam (49) who had been in prison for 21 years for his involvement in Hamas attacks on crowds of people that resulted in dozens of Israelis being killed. This included a bomb attack on a bus near Beersheba that killed 16 people.

The Palestinian fighters and Palestinian prisoners are descendants of Palestinian refugees whose homes and lands were seized by the Israeli military in the May 1948 War. The event in Arab history is called Al-Nakba or the catastrophe when 90 percent of the Palestinian population was expelled from their homeland. (AP/AFP/Reuters)